One year my Mom tried to get us to make our Christmas gifts for one another. There is some serious backstory to all of this, but suffice it to say, she thought she was offering us an antidote to what ailed us.

My Mom is an artist. So everyone groaned and thought she had a leg up on the rest of us…except that my sister is a potter, my Dad is a woodworker, Rose is crocheter, and I am a writer. So our excuses didn’t really fly.

I suspect we can all make our own excuses. All of which I can confidently say are totally unfounded.

As much as we speak of Advent as a season of anticipation, preparation, and watchfulness, it is also a season which invites us into creative thinking. We decorate, scheme, and play. We also bake and love and share.

All of us have the tools to be creative.

We’re also free to use them.